Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has long been a cornerstone of digital marketing, with companies worldwide leveraging it to boost visibility, traffic, and conversions. But the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) are reshaping the entire SEO landscape, forcing businesses to rethink how they approach search. The impact is profound, altering not only how search engines deliver results but also what it means to optimize for them.

Eli Schwartz, SEO strategist and author of Product-Led SEO, is among the leading voices in this conversation. During a recent podcast with Lenny Rachitsky, Schwartz provided a comprehensive view of how AI is changing SEO strategies. His central theme is clear: while AI doesn’t make SEO obsolete, it transforms everything about it. As Schwartz succinctly put it, “AI doesn’t make SEO obsolete, but it does change everything.”

Listen to our conversation on AI’s disruption of SEO. Hint: It’s not dead!

The AI Shift: From Apocalypse to Opportunity

Initially, many in the SEO world viewed the advent of AI as a threat, believing it could render traditional SEO techniques obsolete. The concern was especially heightened with the introduction of AI-driven search tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI-powered SGE. These tools, designed to provide direct answers to users’ queries without requiring them to visit external websites, seemed to challenge the very essence of SEO, which traditionally focuses on driving organic traffic to websites.

Schwartz was candid about his own initial skepticism. “Transparently, I thought this was going to be an apocalypse,” he admitted. “Up until AI Overviews, whoever won on that long-form piece of content would get that first click. But now that doesn’t exist anymore.” His concern reflected the fears of many SEO professionals—AI-driven overviews could bypass organic listings altogether, leaving businesses without the traffic they had previously relied on.

However, as Schwartz dug deeper into the mechanics of AI’s role in search, his perspective evolved. He now sees AI not as the death knell of SEO, but as a catalyst for change. “SEO isn’t dead—it’s just evolved,” he explained. Instead of focusing solely on the first click from traditional organic rankings, Schwartz emphasizes the importance of understanding how users interact with AI-generated answers and adjusting strategies accordingly. The key takeaway: businesses need to shift their focus from just ranking to delivering real value across various touchpoints in the user journey.

SEO as a Product: Moving Beyond Traditional Tactics

One of the most compelling arguments Schwartz makes is that SEO needs to be treated as more than just a marketing tactic—it should be viewed as a product in itself. “The product managers should be thinking about this SEO question because it’s a product question,” Schwartz stated. “It’s about what kind of experience you create for users who are doing their own self-discovery journey.”

In the AI era, search intent is becoming increasingly complex. Users are no longer just typing keywords into a search engine; they’re asking nuanced questions and expecting AI-driven tools to provide them with the best possible answers. This shift means that businesses must adapt by offering more than just keyword-optimized pages. They need to develop content that serves specific user needs, aligns with their intent, and ultimately guides them through the buyer’s journey.

Schwartz elaborated on this during the podcast: “If you’re a SaaS company, you shouldn’t rely solely on traditional SEO because your customers’ decision-making process is longer and involves multiple stakeholders—and can’t be solved through a single search.” The SEO landscape for businesses in complex industries is fundamentally different from e-commerce or media companies. “SEO works best when it’s part of a broader strategy that considers the entire user journey,” he said.

Understanding Mid-Funnel SEO: A Key to Success in the AI Era

In today’s SEO landscape, the path to success involves focusing on more than just top-of-funnel traffic. Schwartz champions a shift toward mid-funnel SEO strategies, where the user intent is more defined, and the likelihood of conversion is higher. “You need to focus on mid-funnel SEO strategies,” Schwartz advised, emphasizing that it’s about engaging users who are already deep into their decision-making process.

Mid-funnel SEO requires creating content that helps users move from initial research to deeper exploration of a product or service. It’s not enough to cast a wide net with broad keywords anymore; businesses need to answer specific questions and provide value to users who already know what they are looking for.

Schwartz provided a clear example from his work with Zapier, a tool that connects various apps and services. Rather than targeting generic search terms like “productivity software,” Schwartz and his team honed in on user-specific queries, such as “how to connect Gmail to Salesforce.” By addressing precise user needs, Zapier was able to capture more qualified traffic—users who were already interested in how the product could solve their problems. “It’s about finding users with intent, not just traffic,” Schwartz explained.

This focus on mid-funnel strategies is especially crucial in the AI era. As Schwartz noted, “The discovery step of search is going to be swallowed up by LLMs, but once users have a sense of what they want, there’s still an opportunity to provide deeper information and convert them.”

Competitive Markets: When to Rethink SEO Investments

One of Schwartz’s more controversial stances is that SEO isn’t always the right solution for every business. He highlighted that in certain industries—particularly those with low search volumes or complex buyer journeys—SEO might not offer the best return on investment.

“Some industries just aren’t a good fit for traditional SEO,” Schwartz stated plainly. “If you’re in B2B SaaS or cloud services, it’s often better to invest in targeted ads or partnerships than pouring resources into SEO.” His point is that SEO can be resource-intensive, and in competitive markets, businesses must weigh whether the cost of SEO justifies the potential gains.

“SEO isn’t free,” Schwartz reminded listeners. “There’s a cost in time, resources, and direct expenses.” For companies where the decision-making process is more complex—such as enterprise-level software sales—other marketing strategies might be a more effective use of resources. “If you can’t answer the question of what it is that someone’s going to search for, then don’t do SEO,” he said bluntly.

Leveraging AI for SEO: Tools, Not Solutions

As AI continues to evolve, Schwartz advocates for using it as a tool to complement SEO efforts rather than as a replacement for them. “AI is a tool, not a solution,” Schwartz remarked. While AI can generate content quickly, he cautions against using it to create large volumes of low-quality content, which he likens to “the slop of poorly written content already flooding the web.”

Instead, Schwartz suggests businesses use AI to enhance existing content or assist with specific tasks like product descriptions. “AI can help you create content faster, but it’s only useful if that content is part of a bigger strategy,” he explained. For example, AI can be an excellent tool for automating repetitive tasks in content creation, like generating metadata or refining product descriptions. But businesses should avoid relying on AI for creating entire blog posts, which may ultimately harm their SEO efforts by producing content that doesn’t meet user needs.

Schwartz also highlighted the role of AI in improving technical SEO tasks like page speed optimization or site structure analysis. “AI can help you streamline technical SEO, but it’s not a magic bullet. You still need to make sure your content is valuable and relevant,” he noted.

Programmatic SEO: The Future of Large-Scale Optimization

In addition to leveraging AI, Schwartz sees great potential in programmatic SEO—a strategy that uses data to dynamically generate large volumes of content. This approach is particularly useful for businesses with extensive datasets, such as real estate platforms or travel websites.

“Programmatic SEO allows you to create thousands or even millions of pages that cater to specific user needs without having to write each one manually,” Schwartz explained. He cited examples like TripAdvisor and Zillow, both of which have dominated search rankings by using programmatic strategies. These companies aggregate data from multiple sources, including user-generated content (UGC), to create comprehensive pages that serve both users and search engines.

“TripAdvisor didn’t write blog posts for every hotel—they used UGC and data sources to build out their pages,” Schwartz explained. “And Zillow doesn’t write editorial content for each property listing; they use programmatic SEO to rank for millions of individual properties.”

Programmatic SEO, when done right, can be a powerful tool for scaling content without sacrificing quality. However, Schwartz warned that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution: “It only works if the content you’re creating addresses a user need. Otherwise, it’s just more content for the sake of content.”

SEO Forecasting: Moving Beyond Keywords

One of the most striking insights from Schwartz’s discussion was his critique of traditional SEO forecasting methods. Most companies rely on bottom-up forecasts, looking at keyword search volumes and estimating potential traffic. But Schwartz argued that this approach is often flawed due to inaccuracies in keyword tools. “Most keyword research tools are way off,” he said, adding that these tools rely on proprietary algorithms that often misestimate search volumes by significant margins.

Instead, Schwartz advocates for a top-down approach to SEO forecasting. “You should start by looking at the total addressable market (TAM) and then work backward from there,” he advised. For example, if a company is launching in a new country, they should consider the country’s population, demographic breakdown, and online shopping habits before estimating how many users they can realistically capture through SEO.

This TAM approach allows businesses to set more realistic goals for their SEO campaigns, rather than relying on potentially inaccurate keyword data. “When you start from the top down, you can adjust your forecasts as you gather more data, rather than being locked into a keyword volume that’s probably wrong in the first place,”

The Future of SEO: Expertise in High Demand

As the SEO landscape continues to evolve, Schwartz predicts that the demand for SEO expertise will only increase. “The need for SEO expertise is going to explode because search layouts are changing, and companies need to pivot their strategies,” he explained. As AI tools like ChatGPT and SGE become more prevalent, businesses will need SEO professionals who understand how to optimize content for both traditional search engines and AI-generated results.

“SEO is not a dark art,” Schwartz concluded. “It’s about delivering the right content to the right users at the right time.” For SEO professionals, the challenge will be to stay ahead of the curve by adapting to the rapid changes in search technology while maintaining a focus on quality and user-centric content.

Embracing SEO’s Evolution in the Age of AI

As AI continues to reshape the digital landscape, SEO is undergoing a significant transformation. But rather than fearing these changes, SEO professionals and marketers should view them as opportunities to innovate and adapt. As Schwartz emphasized throughout his discussion, the fundamentals of SEO remain the same: understanding user intent, delivering high-quality content, and building a strong, recognizable brand.

By embracing mid-funnel strategies, leveraging programmatic SEO, and using AI as a tool to complement rather than replace human expertise, businesses can thrive in this new era of search. Those who are willing to evolve with the technology will not only survive but excel in the increasingly competitive world of digital marketing.